The treatment of various medical conditions related to the salivary ducts can involve several techniques, including wire insertion, sheath insertion, balloon dilatation of strictures, irrigant delivery, therapeutic agent delivery, and stone removal. In the salivary duct, each of these procedures is complicated by the size of the salivary duct itself, which is relatively small in comparison to other body vessels within which minimally invasive procedures have become common. Therefore, to perform these techniques, dilation of the papilla and salivary duct is required.
Dilation is currently performed by rotating a metal wire around the wall of the salivary duct and then inserting a tapered metal tool into the papilla. In some instances, sheaths are introduced into a portion of the salivary duct to provide access for one or more treatment devices. However, sheaths having a lumen with a diameter sufficient for the traversal of one or more treatment devices are generally larger than the papilla and at times the salivary duct itself. In addition, the tortuous anatomy of the salivary duct prevents a user from navigating the treatment devices through the salivary duct. Therefore, significant pressure is required to introduce the sheath and/or dilator into the papilla and salivary duct. As a result, the patient is subjected to uncomfortable pressures and damage to the papilla and salivary duct can occur. In instances where a sheath is not used, the repeated access (e.g., introduction and removal) of devices from the salivary duct during diagnosis and treatment increases the likelihood of trauma to the papilla and salivary duct.
Therefore, a need exists for methods of providing access to a bodily passage, such as a salivary duct.